When file-sharing users think of filtering their P2P experience, they think of something like PeerGuardian. When they think of a filtering list, they typically think of BlueTack. Now, there is a rival to BlueTack and it’s called IPFilterX.
When it comes to filtering IP addresses, the general goal for file-sharing users is to, to put it bluntly, ‘block out the bad guys’. These bad guys, naturally, are anti-p2p companies that, among other things, attempt to pollute p2p with fake files or capture an IP address that can result in a legally flimsy lawsuit where a vast majority are forced to settle due to a threat of a long and costly legal battle. There is also others in the blocklist which includes government agencies like the Department of Defense and corporations that work for the government that also monitor p2p networks.
While some in p2p circles look at IP filters as something that won’t protect users from anti-p2p companies, others might argue that it would be better safe than sorry and grab the BlueTack IP filter file. What would happen if you felt that you wanted an IP filter file, but didn’t want to use Bluetack? Who would you turn to? Competition in IP filters isn’t exactly a well known attribute in the IP filtering arena, but that may change very soon.
Nexus23 is currently keeping up-to-date IP filter for p2p users and hopes to be the next big IP filter compiler with its IPfilterX. It’s available for PeerGuardianX, eMule and uTorrent. Nexus23 hopes to, among other things, tackle one of the sore spots in P2P IPfilter blocklists, false positives. KarlX has joined us for an interview to discuss what he has to offer to file-sharers. He notes that he has been working on this since, at least, 2004 and only a few sites, P2PForums, P2PConsortium andShareHeaven, has supported Nexus23 Corp. since the beginning. IPBlocklist.com later supported Nexus23 Corp. We did an interview with him via IRC:
[DrewWilson] What is Nexus23 Corp? How long has Nexus23 Corp been working on the IPFilterX blacklist?
[KarlX] Nexus23 Corp. is an International Network Corporation, covering non-profit fields and ordinary business economy;
We use computers since 1983, grew up using Commodore machines. We actually arrange a worldwide network which finds solutions for your hardware and software problems or needs, managing your online business with: hosting, housing, website building.
On the other hand Nexus23 Corp. covers many fields, running cyberactivities for: philosophy, ‘underground’ literature, cinema , reports, Cyberculture and Hidden news, IpFilterX for P2P programs, psychedelic arts, history of the Secret Societies, etc.
We use computers since 1983, grew up using Commodore machines. We actually arrange a worldwide network which finds solutions for your hardware and software problems or needs, managing your online business with: hosting, housing, website building.
On the other hand Nexus23 Corp. covers many fields, running cyberactivities for: philosophy, ‘underground’ literature, cinema , reports, Cyberculture and Hidden news, IpFilterX for P2P programs, psychedelic arts, history of the Secret Societies, etc.
[KarlX] Before Nexus23 Corp. was founded, I collaborated with Method and later with Bluetack. Later I went on my own with what today is still my crew, so you can say that I’ve been working on ipfilter since 2001-2002, officially since 2004.
[DrewWilson] What motivated you to create something like IPFilterX?
[KarlX] I’ve been motivated because I think that writers like Huxley and Orwell told the truth about our present and future, and of course R.A.Wilson books. I didn’t think it was right, how others coded the ipfilter, they added ranges like Yahoo and Google, etc. They shot in the bunch with no exact target. That’s why I can proudly say that our ipfilter is more accurate than others.
[DrewWilson] Kind of goes into my next question. Many users who use blocklists may think that BlueTack is the only blocklist that is really needed. What makes your blocklist different from blocklists from Bluetack? Additionally, one of the major criticisms about blocklists is the potential for a high number of false positives. How is Nexus23 able to overcome this issue?
[KarlX] Banning more than 1 billion of IPs isn’t useful to P2P networks, Considering, or better pretending that there are 1 billion of machines connected to Internet that are monitoring filesharers. We have to cut down that number as much as we can because banning innocent users is nothing other than removing sources in the network. we move in the direction to push the ipfilter to reach “state of the art”. We are also motivated by what we saw, ipfilter that banned town-city halls that dont even own broadband connections. 3mb or 5mb big ipfilters, ipfilters that claim to be only against antip2p instead they ban city hall ranges, that’s ridiculous. It’s like cutting yourself out of the Internet. ‘Paranoid’ is a good setting but you have to consider the false positives caused by all those ipfilters. A point comes when you lose more from the ipfilter than you earn.
[DrewWilson] Does your IP blocklist offer a sort of level of privacy and why should users use blocklists over something like proxies to ensure anonymity?
[KarlX] It is a standalone list, it blocks the governments involved in this privacy war, the military ranges and the corps that we contend are key members of this struggle for information. Using a program like Tor along with PeerGuardian is a thing to avoid ( http://nexus23.org/warfare/content/view/494/2/ ), so if a user wants keep his privacy ‘high’ on the internet he must understand where he wants to keep it ‘high’ and how to accomplish this task. I generally suggest using PeerGuardian while you are using p2p programs, but that’s a matter of opinion. Ipfilter cant protect you from emails containing trojans, ads, malicious scripts, etc. There are good browser addons, good programs, etc.
[DrewWilson] one of the things that was mentioned in our previous contacts, and indeed it was mentioned here, was that various governments are interested in monitoring P2P networks. Why would the government want to monitor P2P when it’s typically anti-p2p companies doing this activity and why would it be important to block government agencies?
[KarlX] Basically, terrorists could share information in p2p networks, but what some governments won’t admit is that they are interested to see what people download and upload, specifically if they are downloading or uploading files that they consider “interesting”, for example, documentations about 9/11 that offer a different ’story’ to the official scenario. Governments lurk around these to see whether users know about true information that has been leaked and so on. Information is power and someone pretends to control it.
[DrewWilson] Is there some sort of procedure to figure out which IP addresses are ones that need to be blocked or is it a simple matter of doing a basic whois lookup?
[KarlX] The procedure begins with checking to whom an ip belongs, then checking who they are, why they are peers of a specific file and if they fill our target requests, they become banned. I would make a better example of this: a big company or corporation that could have interests in shutting down a determined p2p activity must be identified knowing these interests and where they are related to.
[DrewWilson] what do you see in the future for IPfilter lists compared to what you see now?
[KarlX] I see a great change approaching woth IPV6 but except this change on the protocol the method to ban them will remain the same, maybe it will be harder than now but, hey, there aren’t infinite numbers. We shall get them all eventually.
[DrewWilson] though, full disclosure, I’ve been skeptical about IPfilters especially ever since my research article “MediaDefender leak gives BlueTack users a Reality check” from way back
[KarlX] By the way, having the choice between using an ipfilter or not, I think that users must use it; In p2p programs at least.
[KarlX] Some reply that the p2p enemies could get normal isp ranges to spy. Of course they do, but hey, they pay for how many ranges? the ranges aren’t free of charge.
[DrewWilson] I’ve been curious actually. Do IP addresses get reassigned to normal people?
[KarlX] what you mean?
[DrewWilson] I just thought that if someone stops using the internet at a given location, that it might get reassigned to possibly an anti-p2p company or vic-a-vic
[KarlX] You mean if some company does not use a range anymore, what happens to it?
[DrewWilson] yes 
[KarlX] If it’s a mil range hardly will be left, if it’s some anti-p2p company then it is reassigned to other companies or corps or is given to a normal isp for connectivity. We work on this too. RIAA recently changed their host, for example.
IPFilterX is available on the Nexus23 Corp website. We would like to thank KarlX for joining us to do this interview.
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